ESFA Update academies: 31 July 2024
Published 31 July 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-31-july-2024/esfa-update-academies-31-july-2024
The next edition of ESFA Update will be issued on Wednesday 21 August 2024.
Information: Publication of the Academy trust handbook 2024
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published the PDF version of the Academy trust handbook (ATH) 2024. This handbook will come into effect on Sunday 1 September 2024.
The digital version of the ATH will be updated on Sunday 1 September 2024 when the new version comes into effect. A list of the main changes can be found on page 8 of the handbook, including updates to:
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finance leases – trusts no longer need ESFA approval to enter into these where the lease category appears on the DfE approved list
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ESFA’s position on electric vehicle salary sacrifice (EVSS) schemes included in the 2023 to 2024 handbook, which is being paused while we clarify our approach and gather data on how trusts are planning to implement them – therefore, from 1 September, you will need to contact ESFA in the early stages of planning to offer a new scheme or before accepting any further employees onto an existing scheme to discuss the position
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internal scrutiny options – trusts with an annual income over £50 million should consider moving towards using an in-house internal auditor or bought-in internal audit service during 2024 to 2025 – this will then become a requirement from 1 September 2025
A letter from David Withey, Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of ESFA, has been shared on GOV.UK to accounting officers providing information about the new handbook.
Information: Core schools budget grant 2024 to 2025
Following the announcement of an additional almost £1.1 billion to support schools with overall costs, including costs of the 2024 teachers’ pay award, ESFA has published the core schools budget grant (CSBG) methodology.
The methodology sets out the rates which will be used, and how the CSBG will be allocated to mainstream, special, alternative provision and hospital schools, and to local authorities for their centrally employed teachers, for the period September 2024 to March 2025. We have also published a separate calculator tool for mainstream schools.
The CSBG allocates almost £1.1 billion of the total almost £1.2 billion funding (we are providing £97 million in respect of schools delivering post-16 and early years provision). CSBG is in addition to the existing teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG) for 2024 to 2025, which was introduced to help cover costs from the 2023 teachers’ pay award.
We expect to publish CSBG allocations in September and make payments to local authorities in November and to academies in December.
Additional funding for early years settings will be distributed through the early years budget grant (EYBG), reflecting the methodology used in the early years teachers’ pay grant (EY TPAG) in 2023 to 2024. More information on EYBG will be published in due course.
Further information will be published in due course about how funding will be distributed to schools that teach post-16 students.
Information: Financial Assurance: Monitoring post-16 funding for 2024 to 2025 guidance
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published Financial assurance: monitoring post-16 funding for 2024 to 2025.
It contains 11 funding monitoring reports this academic year. We have refocussed our offer in line with ESFA’s overall risk appetite and assurance approach, in response to the new adult skills fund.
We have added one new report this year called ‘FRM72 – changes to Planned or Actual End Date after R14 of the previous funding year’. We have also removed 8 reports from last year.
We will share our findings through the post-16 monitoring dashboard on view your education data. The first dashboard will be available from December and published monthly, once the individualised learner record (ILR) submission window closes and we have quality assured the data.
Information: ILR funding returns guidance 2024 to 2025
ESFA has published Funding guidance for young people: ILR funding returns 2024 to 2025.
This is to support funded providers returning ILR data, to make accurate returns.
No funding reconciliation rules have been changed for the coming year, with some technical advice on returning final claims updated for this funding year.
Traineeship funding ceased after the 2023 to 2024 academic year. All continuing students were expected to complete their traineeships before Wednesday 31 July 2024.
Information: Technical qualifications reform update
On Wednesday 24 July, DfE announced that they are undertaking a focused review of qualifications reform at level 3 and below, alongside the re-contracting of T Level qualifications. The review will conclude by the end of the year.
DfE will place a pause on the removal of 16 to 19 funding from qualifications assessed as overlapping with T Levels, due to take place on Wednesday 31 July 2024. This will mean that, subject to any commercial decisions made by awarding organisations on these qualifications, they can be funded for 16- to 19- year-old new students in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
T Levels are high-quality qualifications which provide young people with a firm foundation for their future. DfE will roll out new T Levels in September 2024 and 2025 to ensure that young people continue to benefit from these respected qualifications.
You can read further qualifications reform updates on GOV.UK.